DIG THIS: Red Raiders prepare for second battle with Texas

Friday

Nov 3, 2017 at 8:36 PM

CARLOS SILVA JR.

Two week ago, the Texas Tech volleyball team had a rough go against then No. 3 Texas in Big 12 action.

The Red Raiders — who were swept by the Longhorns, ranked No. 3 currently, earlier in the year — are hoping to not have a rerun when the two squads play each other at 2 p.m. Saturday inside Gregory Gym in Austin. The match is scheduled to be televised on the Longhorn Network.

"The first set was right there. And we kind of let them off the hook and they took it. And from there they kind of rolled us," Texas Tech head coach Tony Graystone said Thursday when asked about what his team learned from its prior match with Texas.

We’ve had the week off with no matches, so we’ve really gotten back to basics on some stuff and reemphasized what our system is all about. There are no secrets (in the Big 12). Everybody knows everyone. The trick is to keep improving and be able to throw some new wrinkles at everyone."

In the Oct. 18 match, which was played at United Supermarkets Arena, setter Missy Owens suffered a head injury and missed the next three contests. The injury hampered Owens in the 27-25, 25-12, 25-18 loss to the Longhorns last month and hamstrung the Red Raiders, who were forced to find a suitable replacement going into their next three contests.

Owens ranks second in Big 12 play with 11.25 assists per set.

"We come back from that the next day and we realized that Missy played the entire match with a concussion. And then she was out from there," Graystone said. "So, I can’t tell at this point how much of that was her and how much of it was us just not playing great volleyball."

The journey was difficult as Texas Tech (14-9, 3-7) dropped its next two matches — all three-set sweeps — to No. 11 Kansas and No. 24 Baylor before breaking through against Kansas State at home.

After falling behind 2-1, the Red Raiders fought and won the final two sets to win the match in a thriller.

"Looking back on it, it was just as sloppy and ugly as it was live," Graystone said of what he saw on the game film from the Kansas State back on Oct. 28. "It was not an aesthetic volleyball match. But, I loved the fight that we showed. I loved us to be down like that and make a statement and comeback. When you get a win like that, it probably does more for you than if it would have been completely clean and better looking."

The positives revolved around outside hitters Sarah Redding (14 kills), Emily Hill (13 kills) and Chandler Atwood (10 kills) stepping up on the attack, while Kyndal Cowan — who was tabbed to fill in for Owens — dished out a match- and season-high 43 assists.

"Kyndal is a fighter, she just grinds it out," Graystone said of his junior setter, who hails from Midland. "She has great intentions, she knows what she wants to do. She knows how to run an offense, and I think more than anything the team wanted to play for her. … It was good to see her take over from there."

More so, Graystone said a week off allowed his players — including Owens and Tita Akiu — to heal up. Akiu, who missed the Red Raiders first four Big 12 matches and five overall, is looking to garner more court time.

Texas Tech, as a whole unit, will need to play strong as it faces off against Texas (18-2, 10-0), which is on a 12-match winning streak. The Longhorns are still strong at the net, leading the nation with 3.32 blocks per set.

"Going to Gregory, their home gym, is always a challenge," Texas Tech junior middleblocker Katy Keenan said. "It’ll be fun."